A central glass stair was the focal point for the Nimes Mediatheque, designed in the 80s by Norman Foster.

It was on a far larger scale than the versions, for Apple, such as that at the Soho New York store, and deliberately eschewed complex stainless steel fixings used by earlier Foster Glass staircases, which were associated with the high tech style which was starting to go out of fashion towards the late 80s.

In other words, in terms of haute architectural design, the Apple store is a less ambitious copy of an 80s design, in a style that had already become unfashionable 20 years ago.